


You Make Me Live (You're My Best Friends)

by inspirante



Series: Of the Nine Hostages [7]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders is a Sweetheart, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders-centric, Anxious Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Friendship, Friendship bracelet, Gen, Hanging Out, Nonbinary Character, Other, Reincarnation, death is mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:15:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27545959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inspirante/pseuds/inspirante
Summary: The quartet shared their blankets as stars appeared in the sky. Virgil found himself tucked between Xander and Annie under three different blankets. Eli was on Xander’s other side, humming quietly to a Disney love song.Virgil’s mind kept wandering to the three envelopes in his bag. Was now the right time to give them? Or should he wait until, like, school? Or should he just throw them away and pretend he never made them?Decisions, decisions.-----Virgil never really had friends before but he wouldn't give them up for the world.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Original Character(s)
Series: Of the Nine Hostages [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1540825
Comments: 7
Kudos: 57





	You Make Me Live (You're My Best Friends)

**Author's Note:**

> The fifth installment of LoLA Week of OneShots!!
> 
> This prompt came from:
> 
> maxisonline (AO3) or fueled-by-angst-and-rootbeer (Tumblr) - also something i want to see is more of virgil hanging out with his friends or just kind of realizing he's not supposed to be the one in charge
> 
> Isabel3710 (AO3) - I would love to see one-shots of Virgil’s art club and new friends
> 
> **Title came from the song You're My Best Friend by Queen

It was an unfortunate realization for Virgil when it dawned on him that he never had a group of friends to hang out with before.

When he was little, he mostly kept to himself, opting to sit under one of the trees in the park and draw with a piece of paper and some markers he smuggled out of the classroom. He never got invited to play with the other kids, but the kids also never indicated they didn’t want him to play with them. He never got picked last for gym or had to wait very long for a partner when a project was assigned or had to do an entire presentation by himself or anything of the sort.

He stuck to himself and the kids stuck to their groups. Virgil was happy with the arrangement as he didn’t have to worry about pleasing anyone or meeting their expectations and he also didn’t have to be isolated from his peers for when he did need a. . . _buddy_ , he guessed, for school. He didn’t have any problems.

And _no!_ It wasn’t bad or awful to have friends now, even if it was a little scary because he could mess this up a million different ways but. . . but he _loved_ having friends who wanted to do things with him and _let him ramble about his brothers because they were his favourite thing to talk about because it was a comfortable subject and for him-_

He was getting off track. He loved having friends because they cared so much about him. . . _but how could he show the feeling was mutual?_

Since he didn’t have any personal experience, he thought he should ask someone who had recently gained a friend like he had.

He knocked on the door, his fingers fiddling with the hoodie strings. He could hear the sound of a book closing and light footsteps approach the door.

The door creaked open and Logan squinted his eyes at him. “Virgil?”

Virgil nodded stiffly, squeezing the ends of his sweater paws between his fists. “Can I come in?”

Logan scrunched his nose in thought before nodding and holding the door open wider. Virgil gave a nervous nod and swallowed stiffly before forcing himself to the door. Logan shut it quietly and hopped onto his bed. He jumped on the bed as all small kids do: he laid on his stomach, wiggled until his entire body was on the bed, and then turned himself so he was seated. He patted the spot beside him, and Virgil dutifully followed, though, he simply just sat.

Logan tugged on his tie and avoided looking at Virgil. “What is. . . _wrong?_ ”

Virgil gave a breathy laugh at Logan’s tone. He felt bad for making Logan feel uncomfortable. The best thing he could do was just blurt it out. Logan always preferred when someone was straightforward, and Virgil could do that! He just needed to open his mouth and ask.

The two brothers stared at each other, the silence increasing the growing tension.

_Right!_ It was Virgil’s turn to speak.

Virgil sighed. “You know how Emmet is your best friend?”

Logan tilted his head but answered quickly. “Yes, but what does this have to do with you?”

“Well,” Virgil thumbed one of the patches on his hoodie. “I want to show my friends I appreciate them, like. . . _show_ that I think they’re, well, you know, _my best friends_. What should I do?”

There was no hesitation as Logan raised his wrist for Virgil to take. “It’s ob-vi-ous.”

Virgil eyed the well-worn bracelet on Logan’s tiny wrist. He refused to take the thing off for anything but washing up, but as soon as he had dried off the colourful band would be wrapped around his wrist once more.

“You make friend-ship bracelets.” Logan clarified, confusing Virgil’s silence for his own, well, confusion.

And it was the perfect idea! It was such a simple answer; _how could Virgil have not thought of it himself?_

“Good idea, Teach.” Virgil ruffled his hair. “When did you get so smart?”

Logan preened at the words. “Always was.”

* * *

Virgil spent hours in his room braiding various threads together in various styles for each person.

For Xander, he created a heart using orange and green thread. He looked up numerous tutorials to get it right and was constantly holding the partially finished product to his wrist to check the length. He chose the heart because he was the strength of the group. He was willing to be both a muscled arm and open ear to whoever needed either. He was strong and was constantly circulating through each of his friends to check in.

For Annie, he chose yellow and red to make tiny suns. He had to trash the first one after mixing up the threads to the extent of being unable to fix it. The suns were to represent the energy she brought to the group and how she was always there with a joke to cheer them up. She was lively and didn’t need anyone else to shine. She made everything much brighter and was able to lighten anyone’s mood.

For Eli, he used purple, white, yellow, and black to form a wave pattern. Eli was the calmest out of the group and a constant. Virgil and Eli were the introverts of the group, so when the others got rambunctious and loud, the two of them could catch one another’s eye and share an earbud to destress. Eli was the one to keep checking in with Virgil to make sure he felt included and Virgil would be forever grateful for that.

Virgil loved how they came out. He excitedly showed them to Logan, who, in his own way, expressed his own enthusiasm for his older brother. He had wrapped each bracelet in a small envelope and had written their names on each respectively.

He double checked that he packed them as he was getting ready to go to the park after dinner. He triple checked when he got a text from Xander that they were on their way to his house. He quadruple checked when a knock on the door came, signaling his friends’ arrival.

When Virgil opened the door, Annie had pulled him into a hug before he knew what was happening. He noted that she had recently dyed her hair to pink when he sneezed from her perfume. God, he hoped he didn’t get snot in her hair!

“V! Are you ready to go?” Xander had a duffle bag swung over one shoulder and a small speaker in hand.

Virgil gave a nod, the weight of the bracelets feeling ten times heavier. Annie gave him another hearty slap to the back, making him stumble a few steps down the porch. The now pink-haired girl was the best guard on the female football team and she rarely knew her own strength. Virgil had been on the end of her many friendly yet harsh pats on the back or head. It was certain no one would ever mess with her and Virgil was positive she forgot that she worked out almost every day, whether at practice or in the mornings before school, while Virgil hadn’t stepped foot in a gym of his own free will.

Xander took the lead with Annie, her hanging off his shoulder as she begged for the snacks he packed in his bag while he brushed her off, hands in pockets but a smirk on his face that showed it was all in good fun. Virgil and Eli were a good few steps behind them, enjoying the silent yet calm atmosphere they had built between them.

Eli sighed and Virgil looked at them. He looked between Eli and Xander, the former staring longingly as the latter quickened his steps to get away from Annie. Virgil furrowed his brow. _Was he seeing things?_

Virgil bit his lip before speaking. “Everything all right?”

Eli tripped but caught them self, a small blush rising to their cheeks and ears. “I-I, uh, yeah. Why do you ask?”

Virgil wasn’t sure if he was close enough to Eli to ask any further, so he hummed uncommittedly and said, “No reason!” though the squeak of his voice definitely gave away his lie.

Eli let out a huff of laughter. The smile slowly faded from their face as they returned to watching the duo in front of them. “Xander has been my best friend since we were seven.”

Virgil remained silent, waiting for Eli to continue. The pair in front of them had now changed positions with Xander riding piggyback on Annie after she bet she could carry him all the way to the park.

“I really love him, y’know?” Eli spoke so softly Virgil almost missed it. “He was cool when I came out as nonbinary. He was the first one I told, and he helped me come out to my parents. And he’s so smart and funny and he’s always been there for me since we were kids. He’s just. . . I. . .” Eli hesitated before shaking their head. “It’s stupid. I don’t want to wreck anything between us. Hell, I don’t even know if he’s queer.”

Virgil didn’t know what words he could say to comfort Eli. He had never been in a romantic relationship himself, nor has he ever tried to pursue one out of fear of rejection. But, in all honesty, he had thought there was some sort of romantic relationship between the two before they started hanging out more often. Virgil would need at least five extra hands to count the number of times one of them reached towards the other in a domestic fashion before blushing and pulling away, pretending nothing had happened.

“I think he would understand.” Virgil spoke without thinking. He panicked for a second, but Eli simply nodded at him to continue, staring intently at the ground. “I-I mean, even if he doesn’t want that kind of relationship with you, nothing is going to change. You guys have known each other for so long and care about each other so much that I think it would be impossible for him to be, like. . . disgusted or anything.”

Eli didn’t say anything, but their shoulders had slouched slightly. “Xander has always been a straightforward guy. He’d probably appreciate me telling him, at least, right?”

Virgil nodded instantly because of course Xander would want to hear. Xander was one of those kids who should have been popular. He did well in sports, he looked nice, he was cool and funny and smart and he was sociable. The thing was, though, was that Xander didn’t exactly. . . _care_ about being popular. Xander had been asked to sit at one of the “popular” tables many times while eating lunch with eh three of them but had always denied the request. He had no shame in speaking his mind to them, once telling someone who asked why he didn’t attend their party because _“I don’t like you so why would I come?”_

He was willing to try anything once but push him too far and he will resolutely refuse anything you ask of him.

By all means, in a stereotypical world, Eli and Xander would never work. Eli was a band kid through and through. They spent hours practicing the flute and were the Section Leader of the flutes in the Honours Band at school. They felt easily and often too much, crying at the drop of a hat when overwhelmed with emotion. Xander was on the opposite side, typically had a muted response to anything and everything, even if it directly affected him.

But anyone with eyeballs knew that they do work. Xander was more likely to be found with Eli during breaks, doing homework together or sharing a quick snack. The pair walked to and from school everyday and shared lunches together. Xander was always in attendance at Eli’s concerts, often carrying a bouquet of chocolate roses to gift them after the performance.

Virgil fully believed that their relationship would still remain as stable if Eli were to confess their feelings.

“Hurry up, losers!” Annie shouted back at them; her voice slightly strained from carrying Xander.

Eli gave Virgil a small smile before scurrying after the pair. Virgil tripped as he tried to speed up and was thankful all of his friends were in front of him, so they didn’t see him make an absolute fool of himself.

The park had been abandoned considering it was slowly getting dark. Annie had tossed Xander onto the ground once they arrived, but he looked no worse for wear. He unfolded one of the blankets he brought along and set it on the ground. Everyone else was quick to follow suit, forming a nest from the blankets and pillows they brought.

As they were all getting situated, Virgil couldn’t help but focus solely on the three envelopes in his bag. _Was now the right time to give the bracelets to them?_

Xander connected his phone to the speaker and instantly a drumbeat flooded the air. Virgil was knocked out of his thoughts as Annie boasted out the lyrics, draping herself in Virgil’s lap. Eli’s lips quirked upwards as they settled on Xander’s shoulder and Xander draped a heavy arm around their friend.

Annie made a kissy face at Eli, who burned bright red and waved her away. Xander remained oblivious, scrolling on his phone to add to the music playlist.

Xander raised an eyebrow at Eli, who was still flushing a deep red. “You alright?”

“Mmmhmm.” They squeaked; face buried in their scarf.

Xander shrugged his unused shoulder, dropping the question.

The evening was peaceful. The hours past slowly as the friends took turns singing at the top of their lungs, eating the various snacks they all packed and throwing them at each other, and playing tug of war with the blankets as the chill air of the evening nipped at them.

Virgil was the first to settle down, his voice a little hoarse from yelling earlier and the darkening sky causing him to yawn. Eli slipped beside him, tugging the blanket their way and snuggling into Virgil’s patched hoodie. The pair watched Annie egg on Xander to race to the playground and back. It was humorous to watch Xander sigh before agreeing, both Virgil and Eli knowing that Annie was the one of the only people able to antagonize the teen the right way to get him to accept a challenge.

Annie won by a large margin, having trained for most of high school to run with heavy gear and now could basically fly from one destination to the next. She stood smugly beside the two cocooned teens as Xander huffed and puffed his way back from the playground, looking near collapse. Eli snorted and Virgil hid a grin. Xander pushed between Virgil and Eli, pulling the blankets up to his chin so all that could be seen was his glowering eyes at Annie.

“Wimp.” She chirped before flopping to the ground on Virgil’s left.

The quartet shared their blankets as stars appeared in the sky. Virgil found himself tucked between Xander and Annie under three different blankets. Eli was on Xander’s other side, humming quietly to a Disney love song.

Virgil’s mind kept wandering to the three envelopes in his bag. _Was now the right time to give them? Or should he wait until, like, school? Or should he just throw them away and pretend he never made them?_

_Decisions, decisions._

“You know,” Annie started, gazing up at the stars and breaking the silence. Her voice was barely above a whisper, strong enough to be heard but unable to break the peace they all felt in the moment. “Everyone always has these wild theories on what the stars actually are.”

“Like Lion King?” Eli asked.

“Exactly.”

There was silence between the four.

“I like the idea that the stars are our ancestors.” Eli stated. Virgil couldn’t see them, but he could imagine the wistful look he would see in their eyes. “And I don’t mean just, like, blood relatives or old people. I mean the people you loved and loved you, and the pets we had growing up. When night comes, they get to look down and protect you at from the. . . things in the dark. It’s just. . . It would be nice if you got to join them again, you know? Add to constellations as future generations tell stories about the stars.”

Virgil stared at the sky, his eyes instantly focusing on Ursa Major. A thousand facts about the constellation flooded his brain, and that was all thanks to Logan.

“I think the stars are alien signals.” Xander’s lip twitched upward as Eli made their distaste for this theory known. “But seriously! There’s no way we’re the only living organisms in the galaxy. There’s billions and trillions and gazillions of stuff in space we have no clue about! I refuse to think there are no other sentient beings out there, whether they know about us or not. It’d be really. . .” Xander stopped and sighed. “Lonely.”

Logan never stopped talking about space when the topic arose. Virgil knew more about space then how to solve various math equations.

“Stars are wishes.” Annie whispered confidently. “Forget pennies and all that other stuff. Anytime someone makes a wish, and it comes true, a new star is added to the sky. But only the good wishes, yanno? If it’s selfless and puts good into the world, then the hire ups make it happen. It can’t be really big stuff, I guess, or world hunger would have been solved a heck of a lot of time ago, but small stuff that would bring a smile to someone’s face on an average day. A small miracle, of sorts. It’s what makes the world better, in a way.”

Logan’s favourite constellation was Andromeda. He knew the name of every star in the constellation and would often tell Virgil any knew fact he happened to learn of the constellation the second he saw Virgil next.

“Well? V? What do you think?”

Virgil gave a huff of laughter. “Logan would pout if he knew I didn’t say stars were ‘a natural luminous body visible in the sky especially at night’. But, if it were up to me. . . I-I want to say stars are, like, previous lives, kinda? Like, you know how they, the constellations, I mean, have stories? From mythology? W-Well, I think it’s our history, to remember our past lives. Like reincarnation, or something.”

Silence befell the group once more. The four let the stars fill their eyes and the heat from their bodies warm one another. Virgil closed his eyes and breathed in, taking in the scent of grass. He had never felt so at peace with where he was, not even in art club.

“If you were a star, you would be that one.” Xander said monotonously. Virgil peeked an eye open to watch him raise his arm lazily to the sky.

“Which one?” Eli asked, yawning halfway through their words.

“The bright one. Sirius.”

There was a small wheezing sound from Eli and Virgil bit his tongue in an effort not to laugh. He could feel Annie’s shoulders shaking from beside him, barely containing herself.

“Y-Y-You idiot.” Eli sputtered. “You can’t j-just say that.”

Xander shrugged his shoulders, letting his arm fall back down to his chest.

Virgil sighed contently as silence descended upon them once more. Without warning, he rose from the blankets and grabbed his backpack. Annie twisted onto her stomach while Eli and Xander sat up and spun to face him. Virgil grabbed the three envelopes and turned back to his friends.

“I, uh. . .” He grinned shakily. “I made these. For you guys for, like. . . _friendship_?”

“Is that a question?” Annie teased though took her envelope gratefully.

“No!” Virgil shouted as Eli and Xander took their envelopes.

Xander cracked a smile. “No to friendship or no to the question?”

“T-The question.” Virgil shot out, feeling his cheeks warm from the friendly teasing. His heart fluttered anxiously from the teasing, a small part of him wondering if they were truly trying to be mean while a much larger part knew they were friends, and it was all in good fun.

“Oh, V.” Eli gasped out.

Virgil clutched the edges of his hoodie sleeves. “They’re not that good, uh. . . I got the idea from Logan, my little brother, which you. . . you already knew, but his best friend gave him a friendship bracelet and I thought, why not? I tried my best but I’m not sure if you’d even like them and it-it’s okay if you don’t want them, like, you can throw them out or. . .”

“Shut up, I’m wearing it forever!” Annie slapped his arm as she fitted the bracelet over her wrist.

“They’re beautiful.” Eli had turned to Xander to help put their bracelet on before helping Xander with his own.

Xander nodded in agreement. “They are very nice.”

Virgil felt a tendril uncoil in his chest, letting him breathe a little easier.

“I’m glad.”

**Author's Note:**

> I really loved that I got to explore Virgils realtionship with his friends!!
> 
> If anyone was interested, these were the notes I had written on them:
> 
> Weirdo joke princess breakfast club type vibe and art club is where they all overlap.
> 
> Eli – is a band kid (flute) looks like they have their shit together but cries in the bathroom twice a week from stress they don’t need because they will be fine
> 
> annie is a jock (butch lesbian vibes) female football player that looks like they could kill you but is actually a cinnamon roll and also does not know how big she is
> 
> xander – kid who should be popular but isn’t because he doesn’t give a fuck (no shame) chad in I don’t dance yeah but ill try unless you push too hard then he goes back to don’t give a fuck he casually knows shit


End file.
